Once I heard “Savatage’s” last album, I made sure I acquired and listened to all of their albums (except the imports) over the past 3+ years, with special attention to the albums “Streets,” “Dead Winter Dead” and “Wake of Magellan.” These albums were called concept albums prior to now, but they were “. . .actually rock operas. . . more along the lines of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” per producer/writer Paul O’Neill. With the release of “Poets and Madmen,” a true concept album has been added to the “Savatage” repertoire.

Having said that, I find myself in a bit of a dilemma when it comes to reviewing “Poets and Madmen.” Fans of the band may fine P&M more than a bit confusing, since it doesn’t follow the rock opera format of previous albums. I have a lot of information regarding this release, which I intend to pass on here, that cleared up many misconceptions I had about the album.

However, the only reason I know these things is because I had the opportunity to talk to Paul O’Neill and Chris Caffery before I wrote this article. For the average listener, unless they find the information here, on some other web site, or are smart enough (that didn’t include me!) to figure it out for themselves, they won’t have the advantage I had to interpret the ENTIRE PACKAGE! That’s right folks. Somebody screwed up the physical package this album was released in. Most of the really confusing elements became quite clear to me once I knew what to do, so I’m going to write things a bit differently than I would normally and hope enough people see this to know what the package was supposed to look like!

First, I want to say this is an exceptional album in all its separate parts. If you’re looking for a great progressive rock/metal album that’s heavy on guitar work, you can’t go wrong purchasing this one. The music is intricate and satisfying, using all the instruments to their best advantage. The gruff vocals of Jon Oliva bring the lyrics alive, and oh how those guitar solos go right to your soul. The story behind this album is very compelling and calls for the music to be mysterious, haunting, melancholy and most of all -- strong. In these areas, I have no complaints at all. If other things worked out the way they were supposed to, this CD would have a 5+ star rating. Now I’m going to back up and do the “untraditional” thing - give you directions on how to approach this album!

Step One: Open the package, forget anything else inside the jewel case for the moment, remove the booklet and read the story presented on the first eight pages. The part that’s the “story within the story” IS true!

Step Two: Look at the loose insert card that came in the case, front and back, and you will understand why it’s there if you’ve read the story first.

Step Three: Remove the CD from the case and LIFT OUT THE BLACK HOLDER INSIDE the jewel case. There is something underneath the holder you need to see. This was THE most major error made in the packaging (and totally beyond the control of Savatage and Paul O’Neill). The holder was supposed to be CLEAR, not black. The insert card was supposed to be with what’s under the holder. If you read the story, as I advised, you will totally understand why.

Step Four: Remember, this is not a rock opera. The lyrics are symbolic, not spelled out. It’s up to you to find the intended meaning, but even more important, find your own meaning. Everyone’s interpretation will be different, but in general, what was intended by the author will come shining through.

The first song on the album, “Stay With Me Ahwile,” starts off the story. Opening with a very dark sounding piano/guitar solo for the intro, this song sets the mood for the rest of the album. Jon Oliva’s vocal fits this album so well as his voice starts out softly for the verse, then becomes very gruff/hard for the chorus, “. . .Stay with me/ For the little night that’s left to be/ For a moment in a memory/ That time cannot defile/ Stay with me/ Where the night still offers amnesty/ And the ending is tomorrow’s unborn child/ And stay with me awhile.” During the chorus the instrumentals are very hard-edged and driving. The verse is again sung softly, and after the second chorus there is an outstanding wailing guitar solo, then double and triple guitar progressions accompanied by piano and percussion, that gave me the chills. The chorus is sung once more, then that wailing guitar moves back to the piano/guitar opening notes of the song to end it as well.

The initial story is about three teens who break into an abandoned mental institution. Entering through a basement window, they find themselves unable to get past the doors to the first and second floors. However, the third floor door opens smoothly and they find themselves on a tier that goes all the way around a beautiful atrium with stained glass ceilings, largely untouched because of the remote location.

The boys start to explore until one of them trips over something in the dark. The driver leaves his jacket and cigarettes on a table while he uses his lighter to see what blocked their way. Startled by a sound, all three boys see a shadowy figure grab the jacket, run down the hall and turn into a side corridor. At first they’re afraid, but then the owner of the jacket shouts “He has the car keys!” They take off after the figure only to see him slam a solid steel door closed. When they reach the door, they find the jacket neatly folded and the new pack of cigarettes opened with one missing. Looking through the window, the see the figure inside holding the unlit cigarette.

The owner of the smokes slides his lighter under the door, the figure lights the cigarette and slides the lighter back. This is when the teens see a chart beside the door and discover the history of the man inside the room, but they don’t understand what he’s doing in the institution by himself. Long ago the other patients had been moved to various local clinics.

“There In The Silence” is the song that basically describes all that happened above. The intro is a combination of eerie keyboard and percussion followed by hard-edged vocals through the whole song. The guitar accompaniment that starts with the vocals and fills the spaces between verses is very driving and ominous. The instrumental bridge is very heavy on the guitars and quite a bit longer than most instrumentals are on other albums. They’re also very inventive in the music created. This is a total hard rock/metal song from beginning to end and Oliva’s wicked laugh before the final instrumentals is just that - extremely wicked!

Taking the file, the boy with the lighter announces, “It says here the guy’s name is Kevin Carter. . .It says he had a mental breakdown. . .says he was a world-famous photographer.” This is where the true story of Kevin Carter takes over.

Looking further into the file, the boys find magazine articles done by Carter, including one on the cover of Time Magazine about the collapse of some Soviet backed government in Africa and the rise of the criminal class to take it’s place. There were photos from some war in the Sudan where Carter took a picture of rebels firing rifles at him as the jeep he was in raced past the roadblock

The next song, “Commissar,” describes what happened after the Soviet Union pulled out of Africa, but this song is full of symbolism and metaphors as far as the lyrics go. It’s also a very heavy song, with emphasis in the beat to make it sound militaristic and cadence type vocals that go back and forth between Oliva and the backing vocalists. It also has a strident note at the end of each verse that’s jangling. The instrumentals between certain verses and words press on very hard, while the solos twist and turn like a snake. The music has as much to do with the nasty sound of this song as the lyrics.

As I said before, everyone will have his or her own interpretation of certain songs. However, I spoke to Paul O’Neill about this song specifically and although the lyrics are very symbolic, the intent was to expose exactly what happens in some of these Third World countries left to their own devices. “They start out as communist or socialist, move on to dictatorship and end up in anarchy,” says O’Neill. “The thugs move in, create their own rebel armies, divert aid from western countries to their own people and it’s the peasants who suffer and die at their hands.”

Having witnessed some of these things first hand, O’Neill told me “Americans have no idea what poverty is until they see what happens to ordinary people in these countries. What we consider poverty in the U.S. would be plenty to the people in many African countries.” I tried playing devil’s advocate to some of the comments from O’Neill, but he had an answer to every one of my questions that made perfect sense. All of us really NEED to be more aware of what’s happening outside our own borders and not rely on the fluff pieces on the nightly Network news reports. There are other sources of information (news magazines, newspapers, etc.) that should wake all of us up. According to O’Neill, we all have a responsibility to keep ourselves informed and by the time we finished discussing this, I had to agree.

NOTE: I took the opportunity of paraphrasing many of the quotes from Paul O’Neill. I’m trying to get his points across without overly long direct quotes.

Continuing with the story the album is based on, the file on Carter said he won the Pulitzer Prize for another photograph. The boys didn’t understand why he wasn’t living the good life after that, so they read on. Apparently he’d thrown away his career because he got hung up on some girl. He got so depressed he became suicidal. They found a photo of a beautiful girl in the folder, but as one of them said “Cute, but God, the world is full of good-looking women.” But the first boy had continued to read and said “I don’t think this girl was the problem. According to these notes, he broke up with her.”

Just then a second photo, which had been stuck to the back of the photo of the first girl, fell on the floor. They all froze in horror at the picture. It was a photo of a four-year-old girl in the Sudan. Her family was caught up in a man-made famine caused by a civil war in their region and they were walking 30 miles to a feeding station. During the journey, all her family members died and she struggled through the last miles alone. When the child reached the feeding station, she was told the food was gone. Exhausted and alone, the girl collapsed in a squatting fetal position, a vulture sitting beside her, waiting for her to die. This was the photo that won Kevin Carter, photographer for Reuters’ News Service at the time, the Pulitzer Prize. A short time later the child died while he “Sat under a tree, cried and chain smoked cigarettes.” It was also the photo that slowly drove him into the depths of depression, contemplating suicide and landed him in a mental institution years later.

In MY personal interpretation of the songs and story, the next few songs would fit in about here. “I Seek Power” opens with a soft guitar and a brush on the drums. The verse is sung softly until it reaches the word “. . .survive,” at which point everything gets louder and harder for the first chorus, “I seek power/ Where the power remains/ I seek power/ In the back of your brain.” This chorus is also the first time the rest of the band’s backing vocals are apparent. The soft verses speak of a child in a symbolic manner, especially the second verse, “In the ashes of empires lost/ A distant warning/ On the danger of ignoring cost/ And children mourning/ As the memories cloud in our mind/ The past can glitter/ And so it has been designed . . .” Once again the chorus barges in with gruff vocals and heavy-handed guitar. I see this as the song where Carter is trying to get past witnessing the little girl die right in front of him. He’s looking for power to overcome the memories. The 2nd to last chorus, “I seek power/ Where the power remains/ I seek power/ Like the kiss of cocaine/ I seek power/ When it’s not always wise/ I seek power/ And I’ll have it again,” is even heavier both in the music and the vocals. This is a very ominous sounding song and at this point a super heavy instrumental takes over. A driving bass track is overlaid with a wailing guitar solo. The final chorus ends with the line “. . .for the power survives.” Now the band takes off at a really fast pace, but still with that driving bass and percussion. The guitar solos at this point are fantastic as they’re fingered right down to the last note.

“Drive” is a faster song as far as sound goes and the lyrics are basically daring anybody to get in the way of journalists out to get a story. They put themselves in physical danger because of “. . .Blind desires/ Core ambition. . .Got intentions/ No dissensions. . .Gotta’ mission/ Street munitions/ Any road block/ I believe. . .I’ll run it.” The driving beats continue throughout the album, so I’m going to quit repeating that. There are some unusual guitar riffs in this short song. I can’t quite describe them, but they’re different enough to make the song recognizable after one listen. Again long, intricate guitar solos/bridges add a lot to the song.

Moving back to the story for a moment, the doctor’s notes in Kevin Carter’s file state that unlike many fellow journalists, Carter has never been able to keep himself separate from what he witnessed in Africa. Kevin said he was “Constantly haunted by the memories of killings and corpses, of innocence and evil; of trigger-happy madmen firing at starving and wounded children.” The diagnosis stated that Kevin’s major problem had been he knew all of these tragedies were still going on. He turned to alcohol and harder drugs to go numb, but it didn’t help. His friends put him in the institution after a failed suicide attempt. This leads into the next song.

EVERYONE I’ve talked to about this album says this is their favorite song. Not necessarily because of the lyrics, but because it is quintessential “Savatage” - every element that’s made them famous is in “Morphine Child.” As the name implies, this is Kevin Carter’s downhill slide and the song is so awesome I can’t even tell you. There is so much going on in the song, from the changes in music in the intro (soft to loud, simple piano with guitar notes to full band sound pounding out the melody) that finally settle into a major league guitar assault backed by percussion, then fall off softly as the first verse is sung. Jon Oliva’s vocals on this song are every bit as good, if not better, than they were 10 yrs. ago, believe me! The music in the beginning and between verses almost sounds like a march, then fades into a melancholy sounding backup to the soft vocals. There are a lot of repeated lyrics in place of what you would call a chorus and the vocals are harsh while the music is loud. About a third of the way through, the famous harmonies begin and they are just great! Following this section is a wild instrumental bridge with screaming guitars and a heavy rhythm. As the vocals begin again, Jon’s voice becomes very sarcastic while the backing vocals answer in smooth harmony, then they change to an almost holy chant before the instruments come crashing in as the march again. Now comes the best part - the famous voice over-lay verses. These are always sung three times for each layer before the next one is added on top of it, but once started they continue until almost the end of the song. Beginning with “Cantations” (prayers for the dead), next layer: “Never listen to the crowd before me/ Never listen to the self ordained/ Never really wanted to believe it any way,” new layer “Time is fading/ Night is calling/ I am on my way,” final layer: “Turn around/ Turn around/ Turn Around/ Turn around.” A brief instrumental is brought in at this point and the song ends with a perfectly harmonized “Time is fading/ Night is calling/ I am on my way. . .(no final word), another brief instrumental interlude and a crashing chord that just fades away. Whew! For not knowing how to get the point across I sure wrote enough about it. This is just one unbelievably good song!

Through the next few songs, Kevin’s ever-deepening depression is apparent. “The Rumor” is his plea to Jesus, asking why he lets these children die while the rest of the world turns their back on their plight. He’s asking if Jesus has lost his faith in all of us and that’s why these horrible things happen, but in the end he thinks “. . .For in the dead of night/ The rumor is/ Your hands they still bleed/ Still bleed. . .Jesus/ It would seem then/ That somehow you still trust/ You have more faith than us/ Perhaps that is how it should be.” Musically, this a simple, soft, fervent song done with acoustic guitar, where the lyrics are more important than the instrumental portion, except for a couple very hard rock sections in the middle, then ends on a very soft note.

“Man In The Mirror” becomes Carter’s introspection where he doesn’t recognize himself in the mirror, but “. . .the man in the mirror is me.” He’s asking himself “Give me one second chance/ Give me one final dance. . .Give me one final bow/ If the moment allows. . .saying just who you are. . .” Guitars and piano are again very prominent at the beginning of this song right through the verses, then things really let loose! The “Give me one second chance. . .” chorus is huge after the soft verses, right through the end of the song. There are also major instrumental bridges, with a lot of guitar emphasis, and the song ends with an especially strong one. I really like the fact that there are a lot of instrumentals on this album and the exceptional guitar work just drags you along for the ride.

“Surrender” continues Kevin’s story as he debates whether to take his life or not. The song starts off softly with only a keyboard accompaniment. The band jumps in after a few short verses and we’re off! I’d say the instrumentals are just short of a boogie-woogie type beat, very heavy on bass and rhythm guitar and a heavy-duty vocal. The beat changes quite a bit in this song, there are harmonies added here and there, the instrumental bridge is more bass driven than in other songs and the guitar riffs build and build in the middle. There is a piano interlude broken by guitar, then the lyrics take over big time. “Go and see him dying/ For it’s really quite a show/ Walking on a wire/ Though he never seems to know. . .The ground is getting closer/ Come and see the show. . .” The last three words are repeated until the music and vocal fade away.

At this point Kevin’s friends have found him and “Awaken” is their attempt to bring him back from the brink of death by suicide permanently. They chastise him saying “Now’s not the time to sleep/ There are still nights to keep/ Chances are there to take/ Now it is time to/ Awaken . . .” This theme carries through the song until the end where “Awaken” is repeated several times. This song opens with a strong bass line and percussion, joined at intervals by guitar chords with the verses and a few solo instrumentals. The word “Awaken” is probably the closest to a scream that a vocal gets on this album, but it IS in tune.

The file the boys had been reading ends with the doctor noting that Kevin Carter disappeared when it was time to transfer to a new place. The boy reading the file concluded “I think he couldn’t handle going back out there to the real world, so he just hid somewhere until everyone else left.” He also thought it would be better if they left the guy where they found him, since the world hadn’t gotten any better since he left it and it wasn’t likely to change soon. The boys started back down the hall, but the one with the lighter slid it back under the door on his way out.

Later that year, the boys heard on the news that Kevin Carter had committed suicide. Daryl, the boy who left the lighter, decided to return to the abandoned hospital. He stood outside the room, said a prayer, placed a pack of cigarettes outside the door and left. A year later he returned and found the pack where he left it, but it was open and one cigarette was gone.

Daryl has returned every year since. The building is always undisturbed, but the cigarette pack is always opened with one removed. He replaces it with a fresh pack every time. He wonders if somehow Carter is still alive and decides that would be a good thing. In a world of 6 billion people, there should always be one Kevin Carter.

There is a bonus track on this album, and the song is very cool, but it doesn’t have anything to do with this story. It’s just a previously unreleased track. Therefore, “Back To A Reason” is the last song of “Poets and Madmen.” It’s a long song with a lot of changes within it, a lot of symbolism in the lyrics and a part where you hear various international news reporters talking about the “man-made” famine. I wondered what the part about the famine was doing at the end of the album instead of towards the beginning and Paul O’Neill helped me out with that too. “It’s because the same things are still going on now as when Kevin Carter took that photo in 1994. At the time the picture won the Pulitzer it was a big deal, but in less than a year everything to do with what was going on in the Sudan and other Third World countries was old news - except to the people it’s happening to right up until now.”

This song begins very softly with just single piano notes accompanying the vocal. The music is very sad to match the lyrics in this part of the song. The sorrow is for ALL the children and all the ordinary people, who are the ones that suffer when it comes to war - whether it’s a civil war or nation against nation. But he’s trying to push his (our) way back to hope in the chorus, “Got to get back to a reason/ Got to get back to a reason I once knew/ And this late in the seasons/ One by one distractions fade from view.” This chorus is accompanied mainly by keyboards and has a quiet, uplifting, hopeful note to it. The music and lyrics change drastically after the second time this chorus is played. The pace picks up, the marching beat is back, the vocal is harsh and the lyrics are depressing as they describe how years pass and promises are made but blood still stains the borders and no one’s been saved. Again a change as a chorus of voices sing “Give me one reason/ For this dark treason/ Every chance unsaid/ Turn around/ All Dead/ What went wrong?” Various news reporters are talking here over the marching music, then the previous verse is sung again. I have to say that this part of the song really got to me. Especially the “Turn around/ All dead/ What went wrong?” Another change comes here with a different beat, but lots of guitars and angry lyrics. The loud guitars play the same chord five times and then the piano and soft vocal from the beginning are back for the final verse: “Got to get back to a reason. . .One by one distractions fade from view/ The only reason I have left....Is you. (fade out - THE END)

I really must commend Paul O’Neill for continuing to tell stories that are socially relevant through music. Sometimes the rest of us don’t get what he’s saying, or don’t have the information he has, but he and “Savatage” continue to put that information out there for us.

I also have nothing but props for Jon Oliva and Chris Caffery for the composition of the music on this album. They had most of the music done before Paul O’Neill had a chance to write the story and lyrics. I think that’s what amazed me the most about “Poets and Madmen.” The story and lyrics had to fit with the music that was already done and the music had to reflect the story. These guys must use telepathy to make things work out so well!

Please check back in a few days to read the interview I had with Chris Caffery. In the mean time, here are a few updates from Paul O’Neill.

I asked about what’s happening with “Trans-Siberian Orchestra” while I had Mr. O’Neill on the phone. For all of you fans of “Beethoven’s Last Night,” keep an eye on the sport of Figure Skating. Several skaters are now using music from that album in their programs in all the various categories. Others are skating to music from past “Savatage” albums. Olympic Silver Medalist Nancy Kerrigan is planning to turn the album into an Ice Show and take it on the road.

Members of “Savatage” and “Trans-Siberian Orchestra” are also working on a theatrical production “Beethoven’s. . .” to take on tour. Having seen TSO this past December on the “Christmas Eve and Other Stories” tour, I can’t WAIT to see how “Beethoven’s Last Night” turns out as a stage show!

At that Christmas appearance I found out just how terrific the members of both bands are (Savatage members are also members of TSO) as the entire cast, including Paul O’Neill who flew in late for that show, sat outside in the chill (I can’t say cold - It’s Phoenix!) at going on midnight to sign autographs for their fans until the last person left. They took time to talk and didn’t rush people along, even though they had to board a bus and make it to Texas for another show the next night. I’ve made that trip and it sure isn’t a short one! Seeing them all lined up behind a table with their pens ready and smiles on their faces was really great. As a journalist, even when I have all access passes, or am invited to a reception, or a meet & greet, NO band has ever been this thoughtful. The night I saw TSO, it didn’t matter if you were a journalist or a relative or a fan. Everyone was treated with the same respect and warm wishes.

“Savatage” is currently on tour, so check out their web site for the dates. If they come to your town, remember how great they are and go see the show!